Expectations sky-high for Linder's third season in Laramie

Oct. 13—LARAMIE — In today's one-and-done college basketball climate, big-game experience is priceless.

Jeff Linder is going into his third season as head coach for the University of Wyoming men's basketball team. He's helped lead the Cowboys to a 39-20 record in his first two seasons after inheriting a nine-win team in 2020.

UW's 25-9 overall record and 13-5 conference showing clinched the No. 4 seed in the Mountain West tournament, but the team was eliminated after a 81-68 loss to top-seeded Boise State in the semifinals.

The Cowboys still made it to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 12 seed in the East Region, playing in the Big Dance for the first time since 2015. UW met Indiana in the First Four round, but lost 66-58 to end the season 25-9.

Seven months later, the Cowboys return the bulk of their roster from a season ago, along with a trio of transfers from Southern California, including Jake Kyman from UCLA and Max Agbonkpolo from USC.

Bringing back leaders like senior Hunter Maldonado and junior Graham Ike to compliment a barrage of consistent contributors and new transfers gives UW an edge when it comes to playing in big games at the college level, Linder said.

"That experience is invaluable," Linder said. "You can't put a price on being in those situations. Especially in the NCAA Tournament, you have all the lights and cameras on you, and you can't replicate what it really feels like because you don't really know what it feels like until you're there.

"For some of our guys to have felt that last year, hopefully we'll have the opportunity to be there again this year, and that experience will allow us to be that much more comfortable in that setting."

The hype in Laramie is arguably at an all-time high going into this season. The Cowboys are ranked No. 30 in ESPN's preseason rankings and are projected to contend with San Diego State (No. 21 in ESPN's rankings) for a Mountain West title.

Maldonado and Ike are both projected to be first team all-conference honorees by Sports Illustrated after both getting the award a season ago. Maldonado also is the publication's preseason pick for MW player of the year.

"After that game against Indiana, we knew we didn't play our best game of the year, but we still had a chance to win," Linder said. "We came out of that game knowing that we can compete with anyone in the country, but we also knew that high expectations were going to come with it this year after what we did last year, plus who we have coming back.

"You have to really embrace that and understand that you can't just rely on what you did last year to be good this year. What makes us good is the work we put in every single day. ... We really have to show up and do the work that other teams might not want to do over the course of the season."

Linder and his team didn't have much time to dwell on the loss to Indiana in March. The Cowboys turned around and almost immediately started summer practice, which included an extended trip to Greece to scrimmage professional teams.

Linder liked the energy he saw over the summer, and hopes that carries into regular season next month.

"Every student wants to go to class the first week of school, just like every team is good the first couple of weeks," Linder said. "As Mike Tyson said, 'Everyone has a game plan until you get hit in the mouth.' I think that's the character of our team. That's what's going to make us overachieve and not underachieve."

The Cowboys will start the season with three consecutive home games, starting with a matchup against Colorado Christian at 7 p.m. Nov. 7. Seventeen of UW's 18 conference games will be televised on CBS, CBS Sports Network or FS1.

UW starts the conference season Dec. 28 against Fresno State in California.

For a UW men's and women's basketball season preview section, check the Nov. 5 print editions of the Wyoming Tribune Eagle and Laramie Boomerang or visit WyoSports.net.

Alex Taylor covers the University of Wyoming for WyoSports. He can be reached at ataylor@wyosports.net. Follow him on Twitter at @alex_m_taylor22.